Pushbutton snap latch

ABSTRACT

A pushbutton released, snap-locking latch in which a pushbutton mounted for sliding movement transversely of an open-ended housing has slots which receive the ends of a pin which connects one end of a longitudinally extending rod, connected at its other end to a pawl by a pin and slots, to one end of each of a pair of links, pivotally supported at their other ends on the housing. A first spring biases the arms and rod into parallelism to cause the pawl to extend out from one end of the housing. A second spring biases the pawl to an extended position with respect to the ends of the arms to permit the latch to snap past a strike.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Paul R.G1ey

I-Iillsdale, NJ. [21] Appl. No. 5,802 [22] Filed Jan. 26, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 11, 1972 [73] Assignee Rex Chainbelt Inc.

Milwaukee, Wis.

[54] PUSHBUTTON SNAP LATCH 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

52 us. Cl 292/166, 292/167, 292/168, 292/DIG. 37 [51] Int. Cl E05c 1/14 [50] Field 01 Search 292/168, 167,174, 221, I66, DIG. 37, 227,196

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 638,404 12/1899 Smith 292/167 X 858,905 7/1907 Passino 292/167 Primary Examiner-A1bert G. Craig, Jr. Att0rneyShenier and O'Connor ABSTRACT: A pushbutton released, snap-locking latch in which a pushbutton mounted for sliding movement transversely of an open-ended housing has slots which receive the ends of a pin which connects one end of a longitudinally extending rod, connected at its other end to a pawl by a pin and slots, to one end of each of a pair of links, pivotally supported at their other ends on the housing. A first spring biases the arms and rod into parallelism to cause the pawl to extend out from one end of the housing. A second spring biases the pawl to an extended position with respect to the ends of the arms to permit the latch to snap past a strike.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various forms of latches are known in the prior art. One type of latch includes a pawl which is spring-biased with respect to a mounting plate to a position at which it extends beyond the surface of the plate so that as the door or the like is moved from open to closed position a strike on the frame cams the pawl inwardly against the action of the spring until the pawl rides behind the strike and the spring urges it back to its initial position. In order to release latches of this type in the prior art a key or some other form of crank is rotated to draw the pawl inwardly beyond the surface of the mounting plate and free of the strike so that the door can be opened.

In many instances latches of the type described hereinabove are not suitable for use owing to the fact that the operating element such as a crank or the like projects too far beyond the surface of the door. Moreover a detachable actuating element such as a key or the like often is not desirable. The adaptability of these latches to various installations is limited.

I have invented a latch which overcomes the defects of snap-locking latches of the type described hereinabove. My latch is released by a pushbutton which is flush with the surface in which it is mounted for movement. My latch requires no separate operating element such as a key or crank. It is simple in construction and in operation. It is flexible in its applicatron.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of my invention is to provide a pushbutton released, snap-locking latch.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pushbutton released, snap-locking latch the releasing element of which is flush with the surface in which it is mounted.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a pushbutton released, snap-locking latch which is simple in its construction and in its operation.

A further object of my invention is to provide a pushbuttonreleased, snap-locking latch which is flexible in its application.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

In general my invention contemplates the provision of a pushbutton released, snap-locking latch in which a pushbutton mounted for sliding movement transversely of the housing is provided with slots for receiving the pivot pin of a joint between arms pivotally supported adjacent one end of the housing and a rod connected at its other end to the latch pawl by means of a pin and slots. A first spring biases the arms and the rod into generally parallel relationship to extend the pawl beyond one end of the housing. A second spring biases the pawl away from the ends of the arms to permit the latch to snap shut.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings which form part of the instant specification and which are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one form of my pushbutton released, snap-locking latch.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the form of my snap-locking latch illustrated in FIG. 1 taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating one way in which my latch may be installed.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating another way in which my pushbutton released, snap-locking latch may be mounted.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating yet another way in which my pushbutton released, snap-locking latch can be mounted.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of still another way in which my latch can be installed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings my latch indicated generally by the reference character 10 includes a housing 12 having a generally rectangular configuration with open ends. The housing may be formed from any suitable sheet metal or the like. I provide the housing 12 with a generally centrally located transversely extending guide 14 for receiving a pushbutton 16 which may be of any suitable configuration such as for example as circular. Pushbutton 16 has bifurcations l8 and 20 formed with respective slots 22 and 24 for receiving the ends of a pin 26.

A pivot pin 28 carried by the sides of housing 12 supports a pair of arms 30 and 32 having slots 34 and 36 which receive the pin 26. Pin 26 is carried by one end of a rod 38 the other end of which carries a pin 40 the ends of which are received in respective slots 42 and 44 formed in a pawl 46 having an opening 48 for receiving the end of rod 38. It will be appreciated that the guide 14 has openings 50 and 52 which permit the passage of rod 38 and of arms 30 and 32 into the guide.

Each of a pair of first springs 54 and 56 wound around shaft 28 engages the right-hand edge of housing 12 as viewed in FIG. 1 at one end and engages the underside of one of the respective arms 30 and 32 at the other end. It will be appreciated that the springs 54 urge the arms 30 and 32 to rotate in a generally clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 until the upper edges of the arms engage the upper edge of the opening 52. In this position of the parts arms 30 and 32 and rod 38 are generally parallel.

A compression spring 58 carried by rod 38 bears between the ends of arms 30 and 32 and the pawl 46 normally to urge the nose of the pawl out of the housing to a limit position determined by slots 42 and 44.

I provide the housing 12 with mounting openings 60 and 62 to permit the housing to be mounted in the desired position on a door or the like at which it is to be used.

Referring to F IG. 3, I have shown one type of installation in which my latch 10 may be used wherein two screws 64 mount the housing 12 in a recess 66 in the upper left-hand corner of a door 68 or the like which is hinged along its right-hand edge (not shown) for movement between an open position and a closed position. The frame 70 with which the door 68 is associated carries a receptacle or strike 72 having a boxlike configuration. When the door 68 is moved from open to closed position the lower edge of strike 72 engages the pawl 46 to drive it into the housing 12 against the action of spring 58. The slots 42 and 44 permit this movement of the pawl relative to rod 38. The slots 34 and 36 in the links 30 and 32 ensure that the pushbutton 16 will not be drawn inwardly when the door slams shut. When it is desired to open the door the pushbutton 16 is moved inwardly from the full line position shown in FIG. 1 to the broken line position therein to draw the pawl 46 into the housing to permit the door to be opened.

Referring to FIG. 4 I have shown an alternate form of my latch indicated generally by the reference character 74 which is similar to the latch 10 but which differs therefrom in that the pushbuton is operated from the left-hand edge of the door rather than from the front of the door as illustrated in FIG. 3. Structurally, the latch 74 differs from the latch 10 in that the pawl 76 is beveled in relation to the pushbutton in a direction across the line of movement of the button rather than in the direction of the line of movement thereof as in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows a further form of my latch indicated generally by the reference character 80 which is mounted with its pawl 78 reversed with respect to pawl 76 of FIG. 4. This form of my latch is operated from the right-hand edge of a door 82 or the like hinged about its left-hand edge (not shown).

FIG. 6 shows yet another form of my latch indicated generally by the reference character 84 similar to latch 74 but mounted with its pawl extending downwardly and which may be provided with a modified pushbutton 86, having such a small diameter that it requires a tool for its operation, as may be desirable in certain cases.

The operation of .my snap-action, pushbutton released latch will be apparent from the description hereinabove. In all forms of the invention when the member such as a door with which the latch is associated is moved from open to closed position the pawl 46 is cammed inwardly of the housing 12 until it passes the edge of a receptacle or strike such as the element 72. To release the latch the button such as button 16 is pushed inwardly until the pawl is in retracted position within the housing to permit the door to be opened. It will be appreciated in all forms of my latch the push button 16 is flush with the outer surface of the member on which the assembly is mounted.

It will be seen that l have accomplished the objects of my invention. l have provided a latch of the snap-action type which is released by operation of a pushbutton. The releasing element of my latch is flush with the surface of the latch pawl housing. My latch is simple in construction. It is adapted to a variety of installations.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claims. it is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A snap-action, pushbutton latch assembly including in combination, a housing having an open end, a pawl having a nose, said pawl being mounted in said housing adjacent said open end for sliding movement between an extended position at which its nose protrudes from said housing and a retracted position within said housing, an arm, means mounting said arm in said housing adjacent the other end thereof for pivotal movement between first and second limit positions, a link, first means comprising a first pin-and-slot lost motion connection pivotally connecting said link at one end thereof to said pawl, second means comprising a second pinandslot lost motion connection pivotally connecting the other end of said link to said arm, a first spring biased between said pawl and said arm for normally taking up said lost motion, a second spring for biasing said arm to a first limit position at which said nose extends out of said housing, a pushbutton, means forming a guide passage extending transversely of said housing between said ends for mounting said pushbutton for movement in a direction transverse of the direction of movement said pawl, and a slot in said pushbutton for receiving said second pin to permit said button to be moved into said passage to move said arm from said first to said second limit position against the action of said second spring.

2. An assembly as in claim 1 in which said housing constrains said pawl to move in a linear direction.

3. An assembly as in claim 2 in which said passage constrains said pushbutton to move in a linear direction.

4. An assembly as in claim 1 including means limiting the movement of said pushbutton in a direction out of said housing to a location at which it is generally slush with the outer surface thereof. 

1. A snap-action, pushbutton latch assembly including in combination, a housing having an open end, a pawl having a nose, said pawl being mounted in said housing adjacent said open end for sliding movement between an extended position at which its nose protrudes from said housing and a retracted position within said housing, an arm, means mounting said arm in said housing adjacent the other end thereof for pivotal movement between first and second limit positions, a link, first means comprising a first pin-and-slot lost motion connection pivotally connecting said link at one end thereof to said pawl, second means comprising a second pin-and-slot lost motion connection pivotally connecting the other end of said link to said arm, a first spring biased between said pawl and said arm for normally taking up said lost motion, a second spring for biasing said arm to a first limit position at which said nose extends out of said housing, a pushbutton, means forming a guide passage extending transversely of said housing between said ends for mounting said pushbutton for movement in a direction transverse of the direction of movement said pawl, and a slot in said pushbutton for receiving said second pin to permit said button to be moved into said passage to move said arm from said first to said second limit position against the action of said second spring.
 2. An assembly as in claim 1 in which said housing constrains said pawl to move in a linear direction.
 3. An assembly as in claim 2 in which said passage constrains said pushbutton to move in a linear direction.
 4. An assembly as in claim 1 including means limiting the movement of said pushbutton in a direction out of said housing to a location at which it is generally slush with the outer surface thereof. 